Chapter 3: Getting Started with Family History Research

Introduction to Family History Teacher Manual: Religion 261,
(2012), 10–15

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Introduction

President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) said of those who have passed away: “I do
not like to speak of them as ‘the dead.’ I believe that under the great plan of our
Eternal Father and through the atonement of Christ, they are living. Though they
have died as to their mortal bodies, they have retained their identity as
individuals. They are personalities as much so as are we, and as entitled to the
blessings that pertain to eternal life” (“Rejoice in This Great Era of Temple
Building,” Ensign, Nov. 1985, 59). Understanding the
continued existence of those who have passed from this mortal life into the spirit
world can increase our desire to learn of our ancestors and provide the saving
ordinances of the gospel for them.

In this lesson you will help students strengthen the bond between themselves and
their ancestors. They can further this process by collecting records from home,
registering for access to the Church’s family history website (available from the
home page of LDS.org), and searching their ancestral history in
the Church’s computer databases.

Students will understand that by providing vicarious ordinances for their
ancestors, they become instrumental in extending to them the full blessings of the
Savior’s atoning sacrifice. Students will also understand that they should use
wisdom in devoting their time to family history in order to give proper attention to
other important priorities in their lives.

Some Doctrines, Principles, and Gospel Truths

•

We become “saviors on Mount Zion” when we provide saving ordinances for our
deceased ancestors.

•

We can begin family history work by gathering our own personal information
and focusing on our first few generations.

•

The Church’s FamilySearch website is an important resource for family
history records and information.

•

We should use wisdom in determining how much time and effort to invest in
family history research.

Suggestions for Teaching

We Become “Saviors on Mount Zion” When We Provide Saving Ordinances for Our
Deceased Ancestors

To begin class, invite students to sing verses 2–4 of “While of These Emblems
We Partake” (Hymns, no. 174). Prepare students to
sing by inviting them to ponder the words while they sing, particularly what the
Savior did for us that we cannot do for ourselves. Drawing from the text of
“While of These Emblems We Partake,” ask students:

•

What did the Savior do for us that we could not do for ourselves? (List
student answers on the board.)

Give each student a piece of paper, and invite everyone to take a few minutes
and record their feelings toward the Savior and the sacrifice He made for them.
After a few minutes, explain to students that later in the lesson you will have
them refer to what they wrote.

Read the following statement to your class:

“The only way for us to be saved is for someone else to rescue us. We need
someone who can satisfy the demands of justice—standing in our place to
assume the burden of the Fall and to pay the price for our sins. Jesus
Christ has always been the only one capable of making such a sacrifice”
(True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference
[2004], 16).

Why is this difference necessary in section 138? (Baptism for those in
the spirit world must be done vicariously by someone alive on
earth.)

Explain that in the Church the word vicarious
means to do something for someone else that they could not do for themselves.
The Savior’s Atonement was a “vicarious” sacrifice for us. The work we do in the
temple for those in the spirit world is also a vicarious work—they cannot do it
for themselves.

Ask students how many of them have participated in baptisms for the dead.
Invite two or three students to share their feelings about the experience. (If
none have had that opportunity, you may want to share your own feelings about
your experience participating in baptisms for the dead.)

Invite a student to read Obadiah 1:21. Ask the class to explain
how their experiences participating in vicarious baptisms for the dead might
relate to this verse. Read with students under the headings “Temple work is like
the spirit of the Savior’s sacrifice” (3.1.2) and “This work rests upon the
Latter-day Saints” (3.1.4) in the student manual. Invite students to share what
impressed them in these statements.

Have students silently read what they wrote earlier in the lesson about their
feelings for the Savior. Have them take a moment to ponder how the people in the
spirit world may have similar feelings of gratitude toward those who vicariously
participate in saving ordinances on their behalf in the temple.

We Can Begin Family History Work by Gathering Our Own Personal Information and
Focusing on Our First Few Generations

Read the statement from President Hinckley under the introduction of this
chapter. Ask students if they have grandparents (or great-grandparents) who have
passed away, but whom they can remember. Invite one or two students to share a
brief memory of one of their grandparents. Explain that when we begin collecting
genealogical records, we should think of these records as representing
individuals with distinctive personalities and lives, each needing the Savior as
much as we do.

A starting point in family history research is to look for records that are
easily accessible to us in our own homes. Ask students to imagine they are
detectives who were hired to look for evidence that someone might be living in a
particular house.

•

What types of evidence or records would you look for to determine if a
specific person was living there? (List answers on the board. Answers
could include photos, school records, birth certificates, marriage or
death certificates, scrapbooks, diaries, church records or certificates,
letters, obituaries, wills, deeds, military records, newspaper
clippings, passports, or citizenship documents.)

•

Which of these items or documents would be helpful in family history
work?

Ask a student to read the statement by President Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum
of the Twelve Apostles about one way we can begin collecting genealogical
records (in the student manual under the heading “Start with gathering and
storing your research” [3.2.2]). After reading President Packer’s statement, you
might ask students if any of them have a box of this type where they have kept
personal documents and other information.

•

What does President Packer recommend concerning the placement of the
box?

•

Why do you think President Packer’s suggested approach can help you
experience success in gathering records?

•

What is President Packer’s counsel regarding time for this
project?

Note to teacher: As technology continues
to advance, students will be increasingly knowledgeable about computers.
With this in mind, you may want to encourage students to do all they can to
scan and store records and information digitally rather than on
paper.

Show students a copy of the pedigree chart found at the end of this lesson.
Explain that a pedigree chart is a common form used to show parental lineages.
Explain to students that in the next lesson they will be given the opportunity
to fill out a pedigree chart on their family. Encourage them to come prepared
with as much information as they can to fill in the names of themselves, their
parents, their grandparents, and their great-grandparents. The first four
generations in their ancestries is the recommended starting effort for family
history research. Point out to students that electronic forms can be downloaded
from FamilySearch.org. Many students may want to
bring their computer with them to class and work on this form digitally.

The Church’s FamilySearch Website Is an Important Resource for Family History
Records and Information

Introduce students to the Church’s FamilySearch website (accessed from the home
page of LDS.org). This site will help them expand
research they have begun from gathering information and records at home. If
possible (if your class is taught in a stake family history center, or if you
have the technology available to access the Internet from the classroom), show
them how to enter FamilySearch.org. Demonstrate
how to navigate around the site, showing what kind of information is available.
(An alternate approach would be to obtain permission from a student before class
to trace his or her lineage during class. This student would need to have enough
information on his or her lineage to be able to perform the necessary searches.)
Also show the class how to register for an LDS account in order to use the
family tree feature on the FamilySearch site.

If access to computer technology is not available, explain the Church’s family
history websites and what is available (or you may invite a branch, ward, or
stake family history consultant to do so).

Also be sure to explain how to register for the Church member family history
website. To register, students will need their confirmation date and their
Church membership number, which are available from their ward or branch clerk
(membership number is also on a current temple recommend). In addition to
research information, this FamilySearch website provides an option for users to
submit names of their ancestors for temple ordinances, as well as opportunities
to add information to the database and correct inaccurate information concerning
their own family history. Those who use this website will also be able to see
the contact information for others who are working on the same family history
lines, so they can collaborate with each other in their research.

Encourage students to get an LDS account if they do not already have one so
that they can get on the Church member family history website before the next
class and begin searching for information about the first four generations of
their pedigree chart. (Students with more family history experience who already
have complete information on their first four generations can expand their
research to fit their own situations and goals.)

We Should Use Wisdom in Determining How Much Time and Effort to Invest in Family
History Research

What help is available to us in making decisions regarding how much
time to spend on family history work? (Possible answers include prayer,
counsel from priesthood leaders, parents, and patriarchal
blessings.)

Ask a student to read the first three paragraphs of the counsel by Elder
Dallin H. Oaks in the student manual under the heading “There are many tasks in
the work of redeeming the dead” (3.4.1). To help students apply these principles
in their own family history efforts, ask questions like the following:

•

What principles did Elder Oaks teach that can help us work on our
family history with “wisdom and order”?

•

What meaning does Elder Oaks’s counsel have for you as an
individual?

Consider having students silently study the statement by Elder David A. Bednar
of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the student manual under the heading
“You have an invitation and a promise from an Apostle” (3.4.3). As they read,
encourage students to read slowly and to identify and ponder the promises Elder
Bednar makes to the youth of the Church. Ask the class:

•

Of all the promises Elder Bednar makes to young people, which one
carries the most meaning to you? Why?

If you have students who have already had some experience in family history
research, ask:

•

How have you already, in some degree, felt one or more of those
promises fulfilled in your life?

Encourage students to take some time over the next few days to prayerfully
consider current circumstances in their lives and set realistic goals concerning
how much time they can spend each week to do this work. You might also suggest
that they consider a specific day and time they might set aside each week for
this work. Oftentimes having a specific day and time devoted to accomplishing a
task leads to greater success. Reassure students that the Lord understands our
mortal conditions and our desires to do His work. Because this is the Lord’s
work, He will help us succeed, even if success is slow and incremental. Our
kindred dead whom we seek out and do the work for are grateful for any and all
of our efforts in their behalf.